Many Stars Coal-to-Liquids

In August 2009, the Crow Tribe announced an agreement with an Australian company to build a $7 billion coal-to-liquids plant in southeastern Montana. The proposed plant is referred to as the Many Stars Coal-to-Liquids project.

Negotiations
After months of negotiations, the Crow Legislature approved a 50-year development agreement with Australian-American Energy Co. (AAEC), a subsidiary of Australian Energy Company Limited. The plant would produce 50,000 barrels a day of diesel and other fuels. Construction would begin in several years, and coal for the project would come from a new mine to be developed by the Crow on their reservation. Tribal leaders said the plant would be built to capture 95 percent of its carbon dioxide emissions.

The Crow reservation is located on top of an estimated 9 billion tons of recoverable coal.

In March 2009, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) approved the contract between the Crow Tribe and Australian-American Energy Co. The project must still go through the permitting process before construction can begin.

The agreement calls for the Crow to receive up to 50 percent of profits from the plant after investors recoup their costs. Total proceeds to the tribe could eventually pass $1 billion each year.

Many Stars CTL facility will convert 38,000 tons of coal into 50,000 barrels of diesel, naphtha and jet fuel per day, with production eventually reaching up to 125,000 barrels per day. Fuel produced by CTL is very polluting, emitting twice as much CO2 as regular gasoline when burned. The CTL plant is on schedule to be operational by 2016.

Canadian company acquiring plant's Australian sponsor
In July 2009, Vancouver-based Terra Nova Minerals Inc. announced that it was acquiring Australian Energy Company, the sponsor of the Many Stars plant. The new entity will be called Great Western Energy Inc. Terra Nova CEO Willie McLucas will be Great Western's president, and Australian Energy chairman Allan Blood will retain his position. The acquisition must be approved by shareholders.

Project Details
Sponsor: Australian-American Energy / Great Western Energy Location: Big Horn County, MT Size: 50,000 barrels/day synfuels Type: Coal-to-liquids Projected in service: 2016 Status: Early development

Related SourceWatch Articles

 * Coal-to-Liquids
 * Montana and coal
 * United States and coal
 * Carbon Capture and Storage
 * Existing U.S. Coal Plants
 * US proposed coal plants (both active and cancelled)
 * Coal plants cancelled in 2007
 * Coal plants cancelled in 2008
 * State-by-state guide to information on coal in the United States (or click on the map)